Reality
by queen elizabeth ii
Summary: It's official, Enjolras has been deemed as mentally insane. He's been accepted into the Myriel Asylum, where he meets Éponine. The girl who knows everything about this world. The only patient who is unafraid. She knows they're not getting out, but she knows how to. This only interests Enjolras more. AU/Enjonine.
1. Prologue

**I decided to try something new. I hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: It's official, Enjolras has been deemed as mentally insane. He's been accepted into the Myriel Asylum, where he meets Éponine. The girl who knows everything about this world. The only patient who both knows everything and is unafraid. She knows they're not getting out, but she knows how to. This only interests Enjolras more. AU/Enjonine.**

* * *

"Let me see.. Antoine Enjolras?" The man in front of him asked. He was old, but was quite fit.

Enjolras nodded absentmindedly. His mind was still in the past. They had drove him here, his parents. The rode his favourite car. It was a bright red, and his father used to tell him he could have it when he was little. Obviously he wasn't getting it anytime soon, but he still hoped. His father now just ignored him every time they spoke of his _problems_. It was just his mother who gave him kind words. His sister would sometimes talk to him, but she didn't do it often enough for his liking.

They had given him to some nice lady who rode the elevator with him. The building overall was very bland. The walls, white. Roof, white. Ceiling, white. The only thing was that wasn't white was the numbers and symbols on the doors, papers, and buttons in the elevator. He assumed that they didn't want patients knowing what certain rooms were. The only English words were those of the bathroom, labeling that of men and women, and one private or handicapped bathroom. Perhaps the symbols for such would seem degrading to those lost in the complications that was sexual orientations and specific genders.

"Well, Enjolras, you'll be rooming with Lucas Grantaire. Each two rooms are connected by a door, but I'll let you meet those inhabitants on your own time. Now, we're always monitoring you, so don't go thinking you can just fool around." The man stood up, "Now, my daughter will be escorting you to your room."

A young blonde girl, no older than Enjolras, step into the office. She gestured him to follow her. She seemed quite happy and content, and even tried to spark conversations as she led him through the beige hallways. He refused to respond to her attempts.

They stopped in the middle of the hallway. The blonde girl opened the door, "This is your room. You can get settled in and do some exploring when you're done." She smiled, "Lunch at one, so please be at the cafeteria by then." And she left him alone.


	2. Chapter 1

"Hey! New kid!"

Enjolras glanced over his shoulder to see a boy, younger than him, lying on the closest bed. He pulled a flask from under his pillow and took a long swig. He had dark, curly hair and a scruffy face. His eyes were dull for such a bright colour. He was dressed in a simple pair of grey sweats and a baggy white shirt.

"What's your name?"

"Antoine Enjolras." The younger male didn't respond, "I'm guessing you are Lucas."

He pushed the flask back down, "Call me Graintaire." He pushed himself out of the bed, unwrapping the dark sheets that was tangled with his body, "Any specific why you're here?"

"Nothing special. Just a few misunderstood thoughts."

Enjolras noticed the the open door at the far end. From his position, he couldn't see through it. He walked past the boring beige walls and peeked into the door, which was diagonal to the farthest bed. He assumed that it was his bed. Looking into the adjacent room, he noticed that the rooms were almost identical. The only different was the everything was flipped. Two boys were playing a card game on the bed farthest from him while another figure was in the other bed.

The one on the bed rustled slightly, making her hair fall past the edge of the twin bed. Her face though, was covered partially by her hair and the sheets. Her frame was small and slim, but her legs were quite tall. The small skin he could see was quite tan, but looked soft and supple.

"Who're you?"

Enjolras' head snapped to the pair of boys on the other bed. The taller one with sandy brown hair looked about his age while the other one looked just a bit younger. He had dark curly hair like Grantaire.

He wasn't sure which one spoke but he replied anyways, "Antoine Enjolras."

"Ah, Enjolras. Nice name." The tall one commented, "I'm Combeferre, and this is Courfeyrac."

The rustling of sheets and the creaking of a bed made all men avert their eyes to the other bed. The young girl rubbed her eyes, yawn, and sat up. She blatantly ignored Enjolras and looked over to what the pair of boys were doing. She had dark, pin straight hair that went past her shoulders. Her eyes were black, everything that wasn't white just blended in with her pupils. And he was right, she had an attractive tan tint to her skin. She was unhealthily skinny. It appeared involuntary.

"What are you playing?" She asked. She was wearing a pair of black sweatpants that went down mid-shin, and a red, tight, tank top.

"Cheat. But it's not working with two players." Courfeyrac chuckled.

She jumped out of the bed and stretched, "Deal me a hand."

Combeferre glanced up at Enjolras, "You wanna play?"

Enjolras contemplated his options for a moment, then decided that it would be a good good opportunity to learn more about the girl with black eyes and attractive dimples. So he agrees agrees to play with them. He takes the seat across from her on the bed.

"So, what's your name?" She started as she reorganized her hand. She hadn't looked him in the eye when she said it but she obviously addressed it to him.

"Enjolras." He had become accustomed to using his last name in just a mere hour there. He assumed they preferred it over one's given name to avoid the intimacy. You didn't want to have the same friends in and outside of an asylum. If you ever did get out, that is.

He had expected her to respond with the confession of her surname, but she held in her voice. Instead she started the game with three aces. Enjolras had two of them but said nothing.

He had smiled. For the first time in years, Enjolras smiled. He had smiled because the girl had called Courfeyrac on his cheat for the umpteenth time. He grumbled angrily and had one point even screamed in frustration. Enjolras was afraid that he would snap. He didn't know why Courfeyrac was here, so he didn't know what he was capable of.

"Fucking hell!" Courfeyrac slammed his hand over the pile of cards in the centre and grouped it with his hand before turning accusingly at the girl, "Hey you cheated like five times!"

She shrugged, "No one called it." She stuck her hand between the mattress and the frame on the side of the bed she was seated at. She pulled out a flask. It had a different designed compared to Grantaire's. She took a gulp.

"What the hell?! When'd you put that there?" Combeferre suddenly complained, "This is my bed! They'd kill me if they found that!"

Before she could wave him off, the door to the hallway opened up. A flustered looking nurse stepped in. Enjolras recognized her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was the same who had escorted him. He guessed that she was the head nurse around here.

"Oh Éponine!" She huffed, trying to catch her breath. Once her heart was settled she looked sternly at the girl, "Éponine! Your session with Dr. Javert was an hour ago! Where were you?"

The girl, who Enjolras now dubbed as Éponine, simply said, "I was sleeping." She shuffled through the cards in her hand before throwing a pair of cards, "Two queens."

Enjolras chuckled at the irony. There were two queens. The blonde nurse represented all that was proper, while Éponine stood for the opposite.

"We're trying to help you."

"It doesn't seem like it." She shot back. She put down the remainder of her hand, "Four threes."

Courfeyrac took this opportunity and yelled out, "Bullshit!" He grinned happily. The odds were in his favour. He flipped over the four cards to reveal a set of threes. "What the fuck?!" He frowned angrily.

Éponine shoved the flask back into Combeferre's bed and got up. She briskly ignored the nurse, walking past her and into the hall. Enjolras didn't see her for the next week.

* * *

**Guys. I've become addicted to a new song. My family friend made it! It's called Still Red by Hologram. Y'all should check it out on YouTube. It's just kinda short, which sucks. But whatever, the riff keeps replaying in my head.**

_**don't sell yourself to fall in love **_

**queen elizabeth ii OUT. (dontworry. i won't ever say that again.)**


	3. Chapter 2

**I just had the crappiest day ever. First I didn't get highlighted as a good student, which I was predicted to get. Next, I bombed my Socials test. Last night my favourite hockey team lost to my home team so everyone was making fun of me today. Afterwards I had to do an impromptu speech in my English class. Then I had to spend four more hours in my school's photo studio taking pictures for the upcoming exhibit at the local art studio. So, some people like to work out when they're angry. Others like to scream. I decided to put my anger into writing.**

**Enjoy!**

**Also, I will be on a road trip for the next week and a half. So please bare with me for a little while. I'll be writing in the car but no internet. So I'll try my best when I do get wifi.**

* * *

The chain hung loosely between Éponine's two wrists as she went to get her tray of lunch. They clanked against each other loudly, which pierced the silence in the cafeteria. People peeked glances at her, making sure she didn't notice. She had been here longer than anyone else, and in all those years she had never snapped. So no one really knew what she was doing in a place like Myriel's.

"Éponine!"

She looked over her shoulder to see Courfeyrac waving his arms in an attempt to catch her attention. She noticed the new guy with them. Enjolras. They had thought she was asleep but he heard them when he had said his first name. Antoine Enjolras. His blonde curly hair and bright blue eyes were not something she had expected, yet he seemed so stereotypical. Of what? She did not know. He was just so.. obvious.

She briskly walked to their rectangular table and sat down next to Grantaire. He always was her favourite. They each had their quirks but she found herself most in Grantaire.

Grantaire, of course, had a drinking problem. They assume that's what triggered his delusional ideas. It had started with small drunken mishap. He vaguely remembered his quick actions of stealing. Next was foggy memories of kidnapping a collection of attractive girls. He hadn't harmed them, but it was easily a violation of the law. Eventually he turned to violence. He could only remember when reminded. They put him on lock down after an attempted murder which he claims he never remembered. He didn't have a sip of alcohol at the time, being at rehab. He hadn't had a problem for the past five years, and so they had sent him to Myriel's, where they gave him more freedom but was still under all day watch.

Courfeyrac had a split personality, but the line dividing the two was blurring quickly everyday. When it first happened, he was in the middle of a presentation in high school. He suddenly started complaining like a young child. He was as selfish as an adolescent toddler who didn't understand morals. When he came to, he, like Grantaire, had no previous memory of those happenings. Eventually, he had started to become childish with memories of times when he wasn't. He became violent when angry, and also played rough. His family couldn't take it. With his size and playful personality, he was too much to handle. They took a chance and accepted him into Myriel's.

Combeferre was slightly different. He wasn't violet, but he was probably the craziest. He was kind, and sweet, and caring. And he made sure everyone felt comfortable. Combeferre was convinced that all inanimate objects were living. That they breathed and thought and felt everything that a human or any other animal could. He claimed to hear screams from chairs when they were sat on or compliments mirrors gave when one would look at their reflections to double check their appearance. He swore upon it and he said that if he could, he would prove it. It was this mild reason that was given when asked why he was in.

This is assumed to have been told to Enjolras in the time that Éponine was locked away.

Éponine softly placed her tray on the laminated material of the table. The chains barely let her eat with one hand in her lap. She would be restricted to anything farther.

"What was it this time?" Courfeyrac inquired rudely as any undisciplined would. Combeferre elbowed him to keep him in check.

"I told Cosette to fuck off." Éponine chewed on a crunchy chicken strip, "So boss man got angry and sent to me to the white room."

Grantaire snickered. Éponine never got along with girls, except for Musichetta, Joly's, another mate's, girl. They weren't friends, but Éponine didn't mind her. Unfortunately, 'Chetta was neither her roommate nor an inmate of the room connected to hers. This was why she was frequently found catching sleeping hours in the boys' room.

Enjolras had met Joly, of course. He gladly came by when he wasn't burying his face in 'Chetta's bussum.

Joly had a strange problem with health and germs, which was got him in Myriel's. Yet no one understood why he was put somewhere so dirty. Myriel's had highly endangered him in his on fears.

Enjolras was meekly curious about the _white room _but voted against asking. Éponine sour look upon the subject gave him a feeling that he couldn't describe. So instead he asked, "Who's Cosette?"

Combeferre turned to him, "The blonde nurse. With blue eyes. The daughter of Dr. Valjean."

Enjolras vaguely remembered Valjean when he first arrived. The old man with the muscles. He didn't understand. At the tips of his greying hair, you could see its natural brown. And his dark eyes were filled with wisdom. Cosette and him looked nothing alike. He doubted they were blood related. "Ah. I see."

Grantaire stood up abruptly. All eyes at the table, and some nearby, flickered his way. His plate was still full, only his drink being drunk from its plastic cup. He glanced halfheartedly to everyone at the table and sauntered out of the cafeteria.

"Is he okay?" Enjolras murmured to Combeferre.

The lanky boy just waved it off. "It's his nap time. He can get pretty cranky." Combeferre joked.

* * *

**Let's try something new:**

**Three reviews before the next update.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey y'all! I decided to post this to celebrate the release of Les Misérables on DVD! Yes, I did buy it. And they have little featurette that talks about the casting and I'm quite disappointed that they didn't add Sam or Aaron. Cause, sure there's a whole volume in the brick labelled **_**Cosette **_**but she sings like twice in the whole movie. Éponine has her own solo! And they talked about how they needed people who could sing and act! Sorry, I'm just so frustrated. But if they did keep talking about more of the cast, they, no doubt, would be next.**

**Also, I am quite surprised to say that on my trip so far I saw three different businesses called Aaron's. Pretty cool. Like a car repair, a pet store (or something to do with pets), and the last one I don't know. It just said Aaron's and the number six was somewhere in the logo..**

**Whatever, enjoy guys!**

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"Two years." Combeferre shrugged, "Not too long."

Enjolras' eyes widened in surprise. Two years? Not too long? How long were they expecting him to stay in the damned place. It had been just over a month and he already felt like he was suffocating. He turned to Courfeyrac, "How about you?"

Courfeyrac clicked his tongue as he counted to himself with each finger, "2, 649, 707 minutes." He drummed his fingers onto his cheek, "Longer than Ferre, so I win!" He giggled uncontrollably.

Grantaire perked up, but his eyes still drooped at the effect of being under the influence. He held his flask tight in his left hand, "I'm next, right?"

Everyone else nodded.

"I came a month after Fey." Was all he said, then went silent.

Enjolras nodded, "And how long was that?" He was still lost with Courfeyrac's wording.

"Four years." Grantaire murmured from behind his flask, "They treat the day you were issued like it's your birthday."

Enjolras nodded along. He needed to know these things. He learned quickly that new guys were bait for sharks to catch. They fed on the nativity and vulnerability of their fellow inmates. He leaned back on his arms on his bed, "What about Éponine?"

All the boys gave each other side glances before returning their looks back to Enjolras. Combeferre shrugged, "No one knows. We asked everyone in the institution and they all say that she was here when they arrived."

Courfeyrac bobbed his head enthusiastically, agreeing with his friend's words, "So we know that she's been here for at least seven years."

Enjolras' breath was cut short, but no one noticed. He had this odd way of keeping his emotions to himself. "Why don't you just ask her?"

"She says she doesn't remember." R muttered.

"That means that she was here a super duper long time ago!" Courfeyrac threw his arms up and watched them fall as if they were buckets of glittering confetti falling to the ground. He was so mesmerized. He suddenly pouted, "That means she beat me."

Enjolras chuckled, "What about the whole _celebrating your issued day_ thing?"

R shook his head as Combeferre explained, "Well, here's the thing. Seven years ago, the entire building burnt down. It killed well over half of the inmates and left only nine alive, inmates, doctors, and security. Éponine is the only inmate still alive. One committed suicide, one murdered, and the rest from natural causes. During the fire, all of the important and secret documentation was destroyed. This included personal information about each inmate assigned to Myriel's. So no one knows the actual day she was imprisoned."

"At least according to Heely." Courfeyrac piped in, "He's been here six years. Knows everything!" Courfeyrac rolled around R's bed. R pushed him, trying to get him to stop. He murmured something about messing up his neatly done sheets.

"I see." Enjolras laid back on his bed. Combeferre sat quietly at the edge of his bed. Taking the hint, he went back to his room. Courfeyrac followed behind him after a few silent minutes.

Grantaire downed the rest of the contents in his flask. Once he realized he was empty, he frowned. He held it upside down in front of him. He looked up at Enjolras, "Wanna have an adventure?" He asked, jiggling his flask at the other boy.

* * *

The two roommates silently and sneakily crept through the dimly lit halls between the cafeteria and the back kitchen. Attached to the back kitchen was a staff kitchen room. That's where they kept all the good stuff. Grantaire had been there plenty of times to know the ins and outs. He had Éponine to thank for that.

Enjolras already knew the answer but he asked anyways, "Are we allowed here?"

R rolled his eyes, "Yeah. I invited Cosette." He snapped sarcastically.

His partner-in-crime for the night took a hint a kept quiet. It was too late for him to make up an excuse if caught, so he decided the odds were more so in his favour if he kept the volume to a minimum.

R led him through the cafeteria and straight into the kitchen. Enjolras was surprised with the willingness of the door. It even caught R off guard. Enjolras was aghast that they would leave access to sharp objects and knives unlocked. Even more so than when he found no guards when they left. R explained to him that there was a transition period of five minutes between each of the guards' shifts. They continued through the kitchen which felt more like a maze. Counters, sinks, and stoves littered the floor plan. It prohibited the possibility of a single aisle going from one end of the room to the other.

Once they reached the other end, they opened another door to yet another hallway. It was slimmer than Enjolras was used to having just outside his cell. It winded, much like the path they took in the kitchen. At the end was a door with multiple locks.

"Oh, good luck." Enjolras snickered with a hint melancholy. He slid down the mahogany paint of the hallway onto the carpeted floor. This one hallway was nicer than every other room in the damned building.

R gave him a quick wink, "Simple. Watch this."

R carefully slipped out a bobby pin, Enjolras assumed it was Éponine's. R knew what he was doing. If he didn't, the alarms would sound. He knew it all to the last bone. All the locks on the door was for display. The only security the staff kitchen had was that which came with the door handle. But it was set so if picked incorrectly, the entire institution would know.

R poked the pin into the small key hole, shoving it around carelessly. He leaned his ear into the door, trying to hear the familiar click. And he heard it. He fell into the open door.

"You were one pick away from sounding the alarm, you dimwit." Éponine had crouched down next to R who was lying dumbly on the ground.

He grunted, standing up straight, "God, 'Ponine. Why didn't you just tell me you were going tonight?"

She shrugged, raising to her full height next to R, "It was a spur of the moment thing." Éponine sidestepped him, bottle of rum in her left hand. She glanced down at Enjolras, "You just gonna sit there?"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You can come with me. R is stupid enough to get himself caught, and I doubt you wanna be here when that happens."

Enjolras thought it over before following her out of the kitchen areas. He could faintly hear R complaining behind him.

"You have anything important you need to do right now?" She suddenly asked as they started down the residence halls.

There was nothing Enjolras, or anyone for that matter, had to do here, at this time. "No."

"Alright. I'll grant you the privilege of visiting my room." Her tone was sarcastic but her facial expression was blank. He didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't.

He followed her to the end of the northern hall. She opened the door, neglecting to hold it open for Enjolras. The first thing he noticed was the girl on the bed closest to the door. She was painting her nails with makeshift nail polish. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was sure as hell that it wasn't nail polish. It was a dull pink, but she was satisfied with it.

"Oh Éponine!" The girl gave Éponine a surprised glance. Her eyes diverted to Enjolras, "Oh, you brought a friend. I don't understand how you befriend such handsome men!" She sighed dreamily.

Éponine ignored her, walking straight to her bed. The girl said nothing of the bottle in Éponine's hand. Enjolras, too, ignored the girl's comment. It wasn't his first compliment. He had received many in his lifespan.

The girl pouted when she didn't get any response, "Ugh. I'm spending the night with Elizabeth and Genevieve." She got up, closing the door to the next door cell behind her.

Enjolras sat uncomfortably at the end of Éponine's bed. She twisted open the bottle, took a swig, and eyed Enjolras, "So tell me about yourself."

* * *

**Oh my god. I tried so hard to post this during my vacation but it wouldn't let me on my phone. And my laptop wouldn't connect to the stupid internet D: So yeah.. I'm sorry.. But I found a Samantha Barks featurette on the extras on the blu-ray copy of the movie. So I am satisfied. And I bought the deluxe soundtrack. So the entire drive home, we basically listened to the movie but just the audio. Gosh.**

**Anyways, if you see any mistakes, tell meeeee please! & how was your spring?**


	5. Chapter 4

Enjolras felt awkward. He just shrugged his shoulders and let out an incomprehensible "I don't know."

Éponine held out the bottle. It would be a way to loosen his nerves. Enjolras didn't mind rum, while Éponine cherished it. Along with brandy of course. Vodka made her feel like a teenager and scotch made her feel classier than she was. She didn't like it. Almost everything else was acceptable. Éponine had grown up with these liquors, and she loved them.

"You favourite colour." She asked while he took a gulp.

"Red." Enjolras immediately replied, "You?"

She chuckled at his enthusiasm of the question, "The colour of the night sky." She took the bottle back, "Birthday?"

Enjolras scratched the scarce stubble on his chin, "August first." He looked at her expectantly to tell him her's.

"That means you're a Leo." She stated.

"When's your's?" He had to ask.

She hesitated. She contemplated whether or not to tell him. When she decided yes, she thought about telling him to keep it on the down low. She made these decisions in less than a second. Enjolras would never have guessed. "March. I was born right between the 20th and 21st. I don't know my official, paper-bound birthday. I don't have access to my personal records."

Enjolras' mind went to the story of the fire. "Oh." Was all he said. Plus she was the one asking questions.

"Hometown?"

"Niece.." He moved to a more comfortable position on her bed, "But I moved to Paris for school."

Éponine moved in front of him. She roughly gripped his chin, examining him like a science experiment, "You're too normal to be here." The corners of her lips tipped upwards in an almost sinister grin.

Enjolras met her gaze, "I could say the same about you."

Her expression dropped. She loosened her grip and said grimly, "It's past curfew. You should go back."

At that second, all lights were cut short. It was pitch black. Éponine pulled out a flashlight from underneath the mattress of her bed. She shook it once before handing it to Enjolras.

"Stay silent and keep it facing the ground." She took one last long gulp of her rum before shoving it to Enjolras along with the flashlight, "Give the rest to R. Tell him he owes me."

Wordlessly, Enjolras followed her instructions.

* * *

Grantaire was asleep by the time Enjolras returned to his room. He had brought a couple of bottles with him, knowing that he'd empty his flask by the end of the day. So when he awoke the next day, Enjolras gave him the rum.

"Huh? Where's this from?" R slipped it with the rest under his bed.

"It's from Éponine." Her name sounded like sandpaper on his voice, "She says you owe her."

R's face went pale.

Enjolras gave him a confused look, "What? What's wrong?"

"Fuuuuck!" R started thrashing around in his bed.

Combeferre ran in, Courfeyrac hot on his tail, "What's the racket?"

Courfeyrac giggled at the sight of R, "Look Ferre!" He pointed at the frustrated boy. He appeared to be having a seizure.

R settled down, "I owe 'Ponine."

Courfeyrac immediately burst into giggles of mockery. Combeferre stared at him for a moment before joining Fey.

Fey grinned, "You could always kill yourself."

"Wait, I don't get it. What's so bad about owing Éponine?" Enjolras chimed.

Ferre chuckled and turned to him, "You need to experience it to know."

* * *

The day went by as any other day would. The boys met Éponine at the cafeteria for breakfast. They spent some free time in the games room with Joly and Musichetta. Joly excused himself every half hour of wash his hands. Musichetta made side comments every once in a while about Éponine's feminine side, positive and negative. She promptly received a sneer from Éponine with each opinion.

It was 12:59 pm, right before lunch, when Éponine spoke up. "R, do you know where the supply room is?"

Joly perked up, "You owe her?" He said over R's groaning and Fey's cheerful clapping.

"You know the answer." He muttered.

"I seem to have forgotten where it is," She mused, scratching her head for extra effect, "Do you mind picking something up for me?"

"Yeah. I'm kinda busy." He glared at her.

"You owe me." She smirked.

He groaned just as the lunch bell rang.

"We'll be in the cafeteria, so just bring it there." She murmured, starting to clean up the activity they had been doing, "And make it quick or you will miss all the good food!"

Éponine put the box on the shelf along with other games and toys. She cheerfully led the group to the cafeteria. Enjolras had never her seen her express so much emotion, and it wasn't even much. She was the first to sit at a table, except instead of the usual table, she found an empty one in the middle. Enjolras was so confused. From what he learned, she hated attention, but she sauntered into the room with an air that made everyone turn their heads.

"I'm gonna grab something to eat." Ferre announced, and left to the line of people getting food.

"Me too! Me too! I wanna get back before R!" Fey jumped behind him.

Joly and Musichetta left behind them. Enjolras was about to join them when an unfamiliar boy sat across from Éponine.

"Hey 'Ponine!" He smiled brightly. Enjolras immediately labelled him as naïve. He had the personality of an optimistic child, but unlike Courfeyrac.

"Pontmercy." Éponine gave him a slight smile, but it was biggest that Enjolras had seen from her, "I haven't seen you around lately. What have you been up to?"

"Just the usual." He grinned. He then turned to Enjolras, "I'm Marius Pontmercy, by the way."

Enjolras shook his outstretched hand, "Enjolras." He simply said.

"You new?"

Enjolras nodded.

"Well, 'Ponine here is a great guide for newcomers." Pontmercy grinned at the small girl next to Enjolras.

"So I hear."

Pontmercy was about to add on when Cosette approached the table. She looked stiffer than usual and kept her eyes glued on Éponine. Pontmercy's eyes, on the other hand, were glued to the young nurse.

"Éponine, are you not going to eat?" She asked cautiously.

Just the sound of her voice itches at Éponine's nerves. It didn't matter what she said, everything that came out of her mouth felt unnecessary to her. Cosette was a weapon if your goal was to annoy Éponine.

"Fuck off." Éponine twitched, her small fuse already lit.

Cosette flinched, "You're lucky my father isn't here, or you'd have another week of isolation."

"Anything to keep you away." Éponine barked. She kept her eyes away from Cosette's face. She was barely facing the girl.

Cosette sighed. She did want to help, but some things were just inevitable, "Marius Pontmercy, I have some business with you. Please come with me."

Enjolras watched Pontmercy grin. He bolted up and followed the young nurse out of the cafeteria. He guessed he wasn't eating either.

"Was that Pontmercy?" Joly asked as he took the seat that was just occupied by said boy.

"Yeah." Éponine said. Her eyes were now trained on the door they had come out of. Enjolras wondered whether it was because of Cosette and Pontmercy or if she was waiting for R.

Musichetta took the spot next to her significant other, followed by Fey and Ferre. It wasn't long until there was a commotion by the door.

"What's that?" A guard at the front asked once Grantaire appeared at the entrance. They were very strict about personal possessions of the inmates.

The entire table craned their necks to watch R's predicament. A few other people watched along.

R held two blank, white boxes. Individually, they were no larger than his hand. He rubbed his neck nervously, "It's.. Um it's.." R leaned in to whisper in the guy's ear.

The guard coughed awkwardly, "I am required to do a thorough check."

R knew this. He had to do it every time he owed Éponine. He could swear that she was hoarding them, especially with the surprising amounts of times he's owed her. He handed the first box over. The guard opened it. He took one out. It was in the shape of a square and wrapped in a light coloured plastic. He opened it up, examining the feminine product.

R's cheeks flamed in embarassment. Éponine's grin grew. Courfeyrac giggled with glee. Combeferre stifled a laugh. Joly and Musichetta chucked. Enjolras stared in surprise, pity and humor stirring in his stomach.

The guard returned the first box and took the second. This time it was small, about the size of a finger. He ripped the same plastic that was on the first one and examined it. He even took it apart and peered inside it once it was empty. He nodded acceptantly once he found no prohibited items.

R took the box back and trudged to the table in the centre. His face was down and his cheeks had yet to turn to its original colour, "I hate you, 'Ponine." He muttered.

* * *

**My unfortunate attempt at humor. Especially on such a angsty kind of story.**

**I loved the spontaneous review, along with all the other reviews! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy with work, school, and now I am managing one of our soccer teams! At least I'm done with all the photography stuff for the upcoming local exhibit. So hopefully I can get more writing done.**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	6. Chapter 5

"Why didn't you just not do it?" Enjolras asked. They had been lying in their respective beds for over an hour. It was past few curfew but neither had been able to fall asleep.

"She can easily get the liquor cabinet locked up." Grantaire replied after a longing gulp of scotch.

"Wouldn't that cut off her supply?"

"Obviously you don't know much about Éponine," The drunk chuckled, "She's clever and cunning. She can get anything around here, materialistic or a piece of information."

Enjolras was impressed by the praise, not the words. He had yet to believe his roommate. No one who is so capable can be locked up in a place like Myriel's.

"I'll see it when I believe it."

It wasn't until three hours before the morning bell rung when they fell asleep. Grantaire was used to the lack of sleep, but Enjolras felt especially tired that morning. He kept to himself the entire day.

That morning, two new faces appeared for breakfast. These newcomers overshadowed the absence of Éponine, Joly, and Musichetta. They were introduced as Fueilly and Prouvaire. Fueilly had an odd obsession of the country of Poland. He explained his life before Myriel's, how he had managed a fan store. He took pride in his handmade masterpieces. Prouvaire on the other hand was an writing major. Specifically poetry. He spoke rhythmically but turned to crude language when angry. Enjolras compared him to Éponine silently.

The four roommates spent the rest of the day in the drawing room. Enjolras learned that Ferre had a mechanical way of drawing, much like an architect. Fey liked to use many colours. And R just drank when the guards and nurses weren't looking.

A little later, Enjolras stood up, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

The rest murmured acknowledgements as he left.

The drawing room was the second to last room in the entertainment wing. Here it harboured the drawing room, the library, the sculpting room, the music studio, and more. The bathroom for this wing was dead in the centre. The rooms were a pale blue and the flooring was a beige carpeting. It was supposed to make patients feel welcome and at home.

Enjolras walked down the hall, bathroom in sight. He had just reached it when the most melodic sound made its way to his ears. It was just past the bathroom, in the music area. Neglecting his need to do his business, he stalked silently closer to the sound. He pinpointed it to the piano room. When he peeked in, his eyebrows shot up in surprised. He was thoroughly impressed.

Éponine tapped the keys lightly. Enough to make a sound, but ever so lightly. Only she could hear it. An open door was necessary. It was required for all non-residential rooms. Anything could happen behind closed doors. Only well behaved patients could have a roommate, a privilege which Grantaire only recently gained.

She smiled at the tune. Her last visitor had proudly sung it to her, but that was years ago. He was barely five then. He had smiled brightly when he sung it, telling her that his eldest friend had taught it to him. He said he was Éponine's age but acted like a child. She wondered what happened to him, and also his friends. She used to get updates about then people outside of Myriel's but they had become fewer and farther apart lately. It had been over a year since the last word of them.

A cough made her head snap from the piano keys to the doorway.

"Sorry," Enjolras stayed at the outskirts of the door frame, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Bullshit, she thought to herself. She was caught in, what she thought, was a vulnerable position. Her eyes narrowed just slightly, so Enjolras didn't notice.

"Why aren't you with the boys?" She wasn't curious but found power in taking control of the conversation.

Enjolras assumed she was interested, "I had to go to the bathroom."

She was about to ask if he did but an unfamiliar nurse appeared at behind Enjolras. She held a clipboard with her left arm and a pen in her right hand, she peered into the room, "Antoine Enjolras?" She asked the boy next to her.

Enjolras nodded.

The nurse turned to Éponine, "It's nice to see you back in the piano room, Éponine." She smiled formally before scribbling on her clipboard.

Enjolras could easily see over her shoulder but understood nothing on the paper. At the top was a series of dots. They were organized specially and uniquely. Half of the paper was a grid. It had four lettered rows and twenty numbered columns. The nurse had filled in a series of squares on the grid. Underneath the grid was a blank area. The nurse had drawn a symbol. It was two parallel diagonal lines with a small circle overlapping in the center of the two lines. She looked through the pile of papers she had, pulling out a similar, but not exactly the same, one. She filled it in almost identically, except with a different symbol at the bottom. It looked like a dog bone, but there were no sharp corners. It was all flow-y.

Enjolras was immensely confused as the nurse left, "What was that sheet of paper?" He decided to test out her supposed clever and cunning thought process.

"Monthly evaluation." She dragged her fingers over the ivory of the piano, "It's quite simple, really. Your name in Braille at the top, so you don't understand it. At least that's what they assume. Next is a survey of your behaviour. Nurses must memorize the series of questions. The answers range from not at all, rarely, sometimes, always. It usually focuses on temper, cooperation, stupid stuff like that. Next is a conclusive opinion of the patient. Better, worse, no change, etc."

Enjolras, like everyone else, was appalled. She spoke of a detailed process that he needed a minute to comprehend, let alone self-understand, "How do you know this?"

"Observation." Her face lit up at a thought, "Like, if you even pay the smallest amount of attention, you can tell that Pontmercy is fucking Cosette," She snickered. Her fave quickly went grim again, "They change the entire system every six months." She glanced up from the piano, "Everything is designed so the patients can't understand it."

"W-why?" He stuttered, "The system change thing, not Pontmercy."

She smirked up at him, "To prevent a rebellion."

Just the word alone sparked a flame in Enjolras.


End file.
